Groupon cuts 1.100 jobs, leaves a couple of countries

Global e-commerce company Groupon announced plans to shut down its operations in a couple of countries and slash a few jobs.

The goal is to transform the company from a daily-deals site -- offering discounts on services and products -- to a company with a greater focus on e-commerce. The company has to evolve, says Groupon COO Rich Williams.

In a blog post he wrote on the Groupon website, he goes into further detail on the jobs that will have to be cut:

“Over the next several months we will eliminate approximately 1,100 positions, primarily in international Deal Factory and Customer Service. Our teams have done great work to streamline our operations in these and other areas, and our global capabilities and strong regional service centers allow us to do more with less while still providing the high level of service our customers expect and trust,” he wrote in a blog post.

After leaving Turkey and Greece, Groupon is now leaving a couple of other countries, as well.

“You likely saw that we recently exited Greece and Turkey. We are also ceasing operations in Morocco, Panama, The Philippines, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Thailand and Uruguay.”

"Just as our business has evolved from a largely hand-managed daily-deal site to a true e-commerce technology platform, our operational model has to evolve," Williams wrote. "Evolution is hard, but it's a necessary part of our journey. It's also part of our DNA as a company and is one of the things that will help us realize our vision of creating the daily habit in local commerce."